Defending The Artist's Right To Choose

An online petition has been set up to protect this artwork from the censor. It is vital to the intellectual and cultural freedom of any society that artistic creativity be defended against attempts to smother it.

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Is this not artistic creativity taking a political position? If it is then surely it must be aware that those who hold a difference of opinion will voice their views. The form of which may appear to be censorship. But then are not on-line petitions also a form of attempted censorship?Let the Right shout and demand its removal for to me it’s great publicity for the Repeal campaign!!!!!

art should have every right to take a political position. The attempt to suppress the expression of that political position - not the opposition to the political position expressed - is censorship. Online petitions constitute censorship if and when they are designed to suppress the expression of a different opinion.

Is that not the case of the online partition....to counter act and suppress another contrary opinion. The recent online partition to have the Brexit referendum rerun strikes me as such a case.I'm not disagreeing that art shouldn't have the option of taking a political stand, as the wall murals on the Falls testify especially the recent painting over of Kieran Nugent with Carson but a counter stand by the opposition will surely entail strategies that call for arts removal or defamation of such. It may be viewed as suppression or censorship but it is an option whether acceptable or not.A PSNI inspector in Dungannon recently refused to have a flag of Billy Wright glorifying his muders removed as some peogle ie those who erected it, didn't find it offensive while others did and he maintained that he was in discussions to try and find a compromise....the relatives and local nationalist councillors were none too pleased with his stance.

The online petition is to counteract not suppress another view. It calls for support for the mural, not the suppression of criticism of it.

A counter stand does not surely entail the censorship or removal of other work. TPQ takes a counter stand on many things but never calls for the suppression of opinion in support of the things it takes a stand against.

Anthony McIntyre

Former IRA volunteer and ex-prisoner, spent 18 years in Long Kesh, 4 years on the blanket and no-wash/no work protests which led to the hunger strikes of the 80s. Completed PhD at Queens upon release from prison. Left the Republican Movement at the endorsement of the Good Friday Agreement, and went on to become a journalist. Co-founder of The Blanket, an online magazine that critically analyzed the Irish peace process.